Bringing a spiritual perspective to daily life

Not Anymore!

May 29, 1997

So much seems to depend on age these days. Many people plan their whole lives with age as a primary consideration. Why are some individuals so tied to a date on a calendar while others continue on little affected by it?

The Bible is helpful on this subject. It says that Moses lived to be 120 and that his sight did not dim with age; also that Caleb was ready for war at an advanced age. The book of Titus indicates that "aged women" teach young women how to love, to be sober, to honor God. On the other hand, David slew Goliath when quite young, and Christ Jesus was found discussing Hebrew law in the temple at the age of twelve. Later, Jesus instantaneously healed a man who had been crippled for thirty-eight years, as well as a man who had been blind since birth. And Jesus raised Lazarus from death four days after he had been buried.

The Science behind Jesus' works, Christian Science, explains that time is unknown to God, who is Spirit. God does not get old or tired or decay or wear out. Spirit is infinite, eternal, ageless. And inasmuch as we are made in the very image and likeness of God (see Genesis 1:26), we are spiritual. The image must be like the original. We are in fact ageless, eternal. Maintaining our vitality is the natural consequence of expressing God. That we can express God is the law of our being.

Mary Baker Eddy learned how, through understanding God, we can apply His law in our lives. Her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures says, "Except for the error of measuring and limiting all that is good and beautiful, man would enjoy more than threescore years and ten and still maintain his vigor, freshness, and promise" (p. 246). Accepting the passage of time as inevitably producing ugliness and limitation is a negative influence of the human mind. But we can learn of our likeness to God, eternal good, and see our identity as subject only to the divine influence of "vigor, freshness, and promise."

The practice of Christian healing takes place in our thinking. What we accept in thought determines our experience in daily living. When we correctly identify ourselves as spiritual, the expression of God, all limitations of materiality, including age, begin to fall away. It is possible to resist the commonly held views that beauty depends on youth, that activity levels dwindle with time, that rejuvenating powers are to be found in makeups or medications. Christian Science shows that it's legitimate to reject memory loss, weakness, and uselessness as normal at certain ages. By determining to obey only what the Bible reveals of the one God, we feel the energy and freshness that characterize divine Life.

So, identifying oneself correctly is directly related to the activity, health, and energy one experiences. A friend of mine once referred to arbitrarily basing our well-being on the passage of time as joining "The Not Anymore Club." She saw how people sometimes give up many enjoyable activities as they grow older. They might fondly refer to some past activity, but when asked about it quickly explain, "I don't do that anymore." She saw there was often no reason for this other than a concession to the passing of time. She determined never to join that club! So, she began at what some would call a young age to understand that weariness and aging are not part of God's child. She replaced thoughts and pictures of aging with thoughts and views of the eternal good that God provides us.

From studying Christian Science, I have proved in some small ways the inexhaustible nature of God, the source of my strength and mental capacities. I have been able to stay awake all night when I have needed to care for a loved one or complete an important project, and feel refreshed. Friends and family have commented that they see the same high energy level in me today that they observed twenty years ago.

The freedom to live without limitation is available to each of us. In the words of Science and Health, we can begin right now to ". . . shape our views of existence into loveliness, freshness, and continuity, rather than into age and blight" (p. 246). This is more than just a nice way to think about things. This is practicing God's law.